Old Tricks, New Friends
by idontlikegravy
Summary: Amanda is up to her old ways again, breaking into the house of one of the wealthiest men on the planet, but things don't go the way she expected...
1. Old Tricks, New Friends

_Disclaimer: Highlander and Iron Man do not belong to me, no profit made, no harm intended._

**Old Tricks, New Friends**

The minute hand was heading up to 3am as Amanda approached the target property. Her heart rate was elevated with a joy she hadn't felt in a while, the joy of the heist, but she was filled with the Zen calm that prevented stage fright (for both larceny and Challenges) and made her the best thief in the world.

This was going to be a challenge, even for her, and she was relishing it. The house had security that was so cutting edge that most considered it futuretech. She had taken four weeks to case the place thoroughly and was prepared for almost anything.

She looked up at the top of the ten foot security fence in front of her and smiled. Looking beyond the fence, she took a moment to admire the striking design of the house, before taking a step to her left and dropping off the cliff the house was nestled in.

Despite the over the top security on the rest of the grounds, the house owner had neglected to put any kind of deterrent or monitoring on the cliff-side approach to the property. Admittedly, it meant climbing along a sheer drop with few holds, a tricky proposition for the most experienced climber, but not impossible for a determined thief; especially an Immortal one.

Dressed from head to toe in black, Amanda was a shadow as she moved quickly and silently as the waves crashed onto the rocks below her. She soon reached one of the struts that jutted out from the cliff face and supported the bulk of the building above and began to shimmy up it.

Ten minutes later, Amanda reached the large glass wall of the house. Balancing on a ledge that ran around the base of the house, she reached into the bag slung across her back and fished out her glass cutter, before removing a perfect circle of glass.

She then drew an aerosol from her bag and sprayed it into the room. As she suspected, the room was filled with lasers, along with motion, heat and sound sensors. She could bypass them all, but that would take time. Best to find another entry.

She moved along the ledge until she came to the kitchen and repeated her previous actions. This time, there were no lasers, but Amanda was suspicious by nature, so she pulled out a PDA and hacked into the house's mainframe using its own wi-fi. She was right to be suspicious, there were heat and motion sensors in the kitchen, but those were easily dealt with. She used the PDA to dramatically reduce the sensitivity of the motion sensors; turning them off might have set off an alarm, but turning them down did no such thing. Likewise, she adjusted the room temperature to slightly above body temperature so that she would be undetected.

That done, she made a bigger hole in the window and slipped into the room. Crossing it quickly, she stopped short of the hallway. She knew there were cameras here, but now she was in the system, it was a simple matter to loop the feed, and she was free to move about the house.

The room she needed was downstairs, in the basement, so she crossed the hallway and made her way down. She paused briefly at the top of the stairs, glancing up towards the bedroom, and felt a brief thrill at the thought of who was sleeping above her.

_In different circumstances,_ she thought wistfully as she climbed down the circular staircase.

At the bottom of the stairs, access to the basement was via a biometric keypad, but Amanda was prepared for this. She'd procured a fingerprint belonging to the house owner's PA, and cracking the security code was easy with the scanner she'd brought along.

Inside the basement was amazing, it looked much bigger than Amanda thought possible, and was set out as a workshop and garage. The cars contained within were beautiful, a catalogue of every high-end sports car that most men only had wet-dreams about and this man owned them all. Amanda let out a low whistle, but she couldn't let herself get distracted by the pretties, she had a much more important reason for being there.

On the far wall of the workshop space hung a rare painting by Degas. It was worth millions, but that wasn't what interested Amanda. It was rare because of its subject matter. An early work, not in the Impressionist style, it was of a seated woman, dressed in a simple shift dress of white, sheer cotton, her long black hair cascading in waves over her shoulders and keeping her modesty. Amanda had fond memories of posing for the young Degas, and she wanted the painting back.

She approached the painting and examined it for any pressure sensors. Suddenly the lights came on and there was the sound of clapping behind her.

"Oh well done, nobody's ever got this far before," said a voice that was familiar from TV. Amanda sighed and her shoulders dropped in defeat.

"What did I miss?" she asked. Her tone was resigned and curious; she was certain she'd covered every angle.

"Pressure pad at the bottom of the stairs," came the answer. Amanda kicked herself mentally. She turned to face her accuser. She had to admit, Tony Stark was even better looking in person than on TV, especially when he was smiling. Amanda raised her eyebrow in query.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked.

"It's not every day that a woman tries to steal one of my paintings, it's a new experience for me," he replied, the smile growing. "Especially not beautiful women who are intelligent enough to get past my security measures."

"Why, Mr. Stark, are you flirting with me?" Amanda asked, a smile of her own mirroring his as she took a step closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. He leaned in toward her.

"I may well be, Miss…?"

"Montrose. Amanda."

"Well, Miss Amanda Montrose, I'm seriously impressed," he said, almost in a whisper, and he cupped her chin in his hand. Amanda closed her eyes and leaned up, expectant of the kiss. But it didn't arrive. "Work for me," he said.

Amanda opened her eyes and took a step back in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"I can use someone of your talents. With you putting my security to the test, it should be able to keep out anyone," Tony replied. Amanda laughed and stepped closer again.

"You have something of a reputation, Mr. Stark," she replied coyly.

"I don't date my staff," he replied, gently pushing Amanda away. She simply smiled; a sly, enticing smile that spoke volumes.

"Who said anything about dating?"


	2. In the Morning Light

**In the Morning Light**

Amanda woke late the next morning in Tony's bed, _sans_ Tony. She sat up and spotted a large rectangular parcel, wrapped with a bow, propped against the wall that faced her. Gracefully, she slipped from the sheets and across the room to examine the gift. She already knew what it was, but she still tore a little hole in the paper to confirm that it was the Degas.

There was a little card attached, which she pulled off to read the inscription:

_A small token. Welcome to Stark Industries. T._

Amanda smiled and replaced the card under the ribbon. She could feel the warm sun on her skin and turned to look out the expansive window. The view out to sea was breathtaking. The sky was a perfect blue and the rolling Pacific Ocean stretched out to meet it at the horizon. She'd forgotten how much she loved California.

She located her clothes in a crumpled heap on the floor and decided to eschew them, instead venturing inside Tony's labyrinthine closet, where she picked out a pale salmon, button-down shirt and put it on. She then discovered her boots under the bed and pulled them on before heading downstairs to the kitchen in search of coffee.

The kitchen was already occupied by a young red-head, dressed in an immaculate suit, who was pouring coffee into a cup while monitoring the stockmarket via the muted television on the wall.

"Morning," Amanda said, making the red-head turn. Amanda smiled warmly. "Any going spare?" she asked, indicating the coffee cup.

"Sure," red answered, pointing to the half-full coffee pot. Amanda nodded in thanks and then helped herself. "Cream and sugar are on the side there."

"Thanks, I prefer it black. I'm Amanda Montrose, by the way. Mr. Stark hired me last night," Amanda answered. The woman quirked an eyebrow at this.

"Pepper Potts. He _hired_ you?"

"As a consultant to Stark Securtech. We didn't thrash out all the details last night, but we were discussing it until late, so Mr. Stark kindly gave me his bed," Amanda explained. The corner of Pepper's mouth quirked in amusement.

"I can see that," she replied. Amanda grinned before taking a sip of her coffee. It was good.

"Blue Mountain?"

"Naturally. Now, would you like me to have your clothes dry cleaned, or would you prefer me to get you new ones?" Pepper said. Before Amanda could answer, they were interrupted by Tony entering the room.

"Miss Potts I…oh, good morning, Amanda, I see you two have met. Pepper, do I have that bio-fuel thing today? And could you get legal to draw up a contract for Miss Montrose here? Thanks," he said. Pepper passed him a cup of coffee, which he took and drank in one shot as though it were an espresso rather than a mug.

"Yes, the bio-fuel meeting is at two. I'll get right on to legal. And don't forget, you have a conference call with New York in one hour," she replied. Tony nodded as he handed her back the cup.

"Better yet, prep one of the jets and tell New York I'll be there in person in two hours. I'm going to show Miss Montrose the Securtech offices," Tony replied. Pepper sighed but she was already pressing a button on her Bluetooth headset to make the call and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Tony and Amanda alone.

Amanda watched the entire exchange with amusement. The two of them were obviously in love; it was like watching a Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn movie. It was also painfully obvious that neither one of them was ever going to say anything about it. It truly amazed her that mortals could waste the precious little time they have. She preferred a more direct approach.

"So, we're going to New York?" Amanda asked. Tony nodded and smiled. "Before we go, may I see the suit?"

Tony laughed.

"Miss Montrose. Here I was thinking you wanted me for my paintings, and all along you wanted me for my toys."

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for anything shiny and gold," Amanda replied.

"I can live with that."

*-*

One hour later, and thirty thousand feet above the Earth, Amanda was sat in the most comfortable seat she'd ever sat in on a plane. She had just sampled the delights of a superb meal, and was now enjoying a very fine cognac. Tony was sat opposite her and she took a moment to study her travelling companion and new employer.

There was no denying that he was even more handsome in person than on television, the fine cut of his tailoring hinting at well-defined musculature that Amanda had seen first-hand the night before.

He kept his goatee neat, but not fastidiously so, and he generally had the air of a man who had higher concerns than appearances, which, of course, only made him even more attractive. Throw in the multi-billion fortune and the whole superhero thing, and it was no wonder that Tony Stark was currently the most eligible bachelor on the planet.

Amanda had loved the Iron Man armour, in all its red and gold glory. Tony had been only too happy to show her how it worked, even letting her try on a gauntlet. But it didn't escape her attention that he didn't reveal any technical details about the technology. As his new security advisor, she was impressed that he had considered she might be some kind of corporate spy.

It was a strange scenario she had found herself in; being caught red-handed in a burglary but instead of being arrested, she was employed. It looked like she'd finally found someone as impulsive as herself. And as for Tony's generosity, she need only look across the plane to where the Degas was currently positioned to remind herself of that.

"Mr. Stark, first that," she pointed to the Degas. "Now this," she continued, waving her arms to indicate the plane. "Are you trying to woo me?"

"Woo you, Miss Montrose? Why the thought hadn't entered my mind. Besides, isn't that a little redundant at this point?" Tony replied with a grin before he sipped at his scotch.

Amanda sat straighter in the chair, serious for a moment. Tony continued to slouch in his chair, and the casual way he draped his frame across the furniture reminded Amanda of Methos.

"So, Stark Securtech is based in New York? I assume you'll need me to relocate,"

"Not a problem, I hope? Do you have somewhere in the city? Because I own several apartments," Tony replied and took another drink of scotch. Amanda shook her head.

"I own an apartment. It's being let at the moment, but the tenant is… a friend, I'm sure it will be fine," she answered. Tony looked disappointed at the news.

Amanda was letting Nick stay in her apartment; he was working with Meyers on a protection detail for the UN. But she knew that job would be over in a month, and a thought occurred to her.

"So, I'll be a consultant, offering advice and testing your new technologies, right?" she asked. Tony nodded. "Then I'd like an assistant, and I know the perfect guy for the job."


End file.
